Polar trees contain records of past solar storms not always detectable in lower-latitude trees, researchers say. Here, nuclear physicist Markku Oinonen of the University of Helsinki takes a core ...

A recent solar flare unleashed a massive plasma plume from the sun's south pole, where these stellar eruptions rarely happen. The unusual phenomenon is a sign of the impending solar maximum.

By studying its polar extremes, scientists hope to gain new insights into the sun and how it behaves. And the best is yet to come — later this year, humans will get our first images of the sun ...